Initiative Reborn
by SnakeSlinger
Summary: Nick Fury brings together the world's greatest minds to re-create the Super Soldier serum, along the way discovering a whole new lesson when a new threat emerges.
1. Chapter 1

Through the narrow passageways of the infamous SHIELD helicarrier, a stubborn Nick Fury escorted two abrasive young men who follow patiently behind his slow trail.

"Wow, all it takes is a Nordic god to break into this joint, this giant goddamn ship in the sky and your still have to pull daycare on me? I mean I did kick ass for you, didn't I?" One of the two men asked vainly.

"As true as that is, you did hack into our top-secret files using a custom decryption program and an A.I. all while snacking on berries" Nick replies to Anthony Edward Stark, billionaire inventor or otherwise known as Iron-Man.

"I don't know if you should be talking Fury. I mean you do that stuff for a living last time I remembered" Stark pointed out.

"That's not the point, Stark. Your a civilian, we're not. Now the sooner we start, the faster you both will be left alone"

'That's what you said last time Fury" Bruce Banner inquired, placing his glasses away and rubbing his eyes with temptation.

Fury paused, turned over and took a long glare at Banner.

"Maybe you've been hanging around with Stark a little too much" Fury said laughably. Stark giggled "They can't resist me-don't blame them neither" Stark smacked his lips and shoved past Fury with little care, hurrying into the entrance not far ahead. Inside, Stark glanced over a gigantic laboratory piled with cutting-edge gadgets and gimmicks striving with wires, screws, scraps of metal, and automated doohickeys.

"Not bad. I mean it's better than what they have in Kolkata, am I right Dr. Banner?"

" It has gotten a bit cleaned up since last time. Hyperactive-energy cleansing rays, radiation-ingesting Causatums, an Atom-duplication reactor"

"Trying to find a faster way to make bigger boom-bangs, are you?" Tony questioned with a grin.

"For your information, that generator-"

"Reactor" Banner interrupted.

"-Reactor is not of nuclear-warfare use...it's a new form of technology created by our brightest and newest physicist-Dr. Henry Pym"

Banner's eyes widened with exclamation. "Pym-is here? working for SHIELD?!"

"You know him?" Nick quizzed.

"Yes! We both studied Physics at Culver University-we were buddies for god's sakes"

"From one geek to another" Tony mumbled. Banner beamed at Tony offhand. "Look who's talking"

Tony smirked, patting Banner on the shoulder. "Looks like the jolly green giant's got something up his sleeve"

Banner worked up a phony pout. "Something more than that"

Nick, knowing where this was heading, intruded impatiently. "Settle down my little superheroes. Remember what were here for"

"Yeah, to be your lab rats" Banner rumbled.

"I got to agree with the big man on this one" Stark expressed. "With the gamma radiation that Frosty here pumps up in his big ol' heart, this project would be dead"

"Never said I disagreed" Fury shot back.

The two slid the ruckus off the toolbench and made themselves comfortable on it-fiddling with the adjacent tool sets. Nick snorts in distress, leaving them behind. Dr. Pym crept into the lab, eyeballing his clipboard. The duo waited for the bustling man to notice.

Pym eventually peeked up at them. "Banner!" Pym shouted, glad to see his old friend again.

"Long time no see, Henry" Bruce said, stepping forward to shake his hand. As Pym reaches out to shake his colleague's hand, Stark steps in, greeting Pym with his own hand.

"What up?" Stark blurts, Henry astounded by the billionaire's arrogance.

"You must be Tony Stark. I've read your work-it's brilliant" Pym flattered Stark, still not sure how to look at the man but dazed.

"Oh thanks, and it looks like you have a nerd-fetish for experimenting with the volumes of atoms"

"Yes, you can say that. It's been my life's work...the torch came from my professor-Mr. Davidson. Remember Banner?"

Banner sighed. "Yes, I do...sadly"

Pym chuckled. "He was hard on you"

Stark got tired of their happy-go-lucky chatter "Alright, chop chop, let's get to work shall we?"

"We need to know our groupings first" Henry announced.

Stark set his tools aside and crossed his arms with boredom. "Go ahead Pym"

Pym started. "Stark, your'll work on sustaining the radiating particles, while Banner will on altering the DMD gene as I will assure the accurate dosage and timing"

"Making more Caps...never thought I'd see the day" Stark admitted.

"Well now you will" Pym uttered, blazing at Stark and Stark to him.


	2. Chapter 2

At the top floor of the prestigious Stark Tower, a worn out Stark barged through the quiet elevator. Pepper, lied on the black leather couch clicking away on her custom cellphone made by Stark himself. It took Stark to grab a rag from under her nose and a glass of whiskey for her to realize he's back. She chucked the phone onto the table to sneak up behind Tony as he opens up some holographic files by the balcony.

"Already back?" Pepper asked curiously yet blankly

"Nah, were just taking a lunch-break" Stark claimed.

"I don't know if your joking or just being smug about it" Pepper admitted.

"Maybe both"

"So your going to make more of him?" Pepper smothered.

"More of who?"

"Captain America"

"Oh yeah, sure" Stark said with little interest.

"You don't seem too happy about it"

"Eh, I mean I'm just replicating someone else's innovation...that's what I just keeping doing isn't it?" Tony murmured, not even turning to look at his girlfriend.

Pepper felt that Tony was thinking he was losing his touch. "Tony, don't say that. You're the best at what you do"

"Are you kidding? That's kick-ass! Stevie is gonna envy me so hard when he finds out"

"Wait? That's it?"

Tony turned to Pepper in confusion.

"What's what?"

"Your going to re-create one of the greatest human enhancements in history so one single man can feel left in the dirt?"

"Well yeah...that plus I'm bored. I just can't make flying clunks of metal all the time, can I?"

Pepper was amazed by Stark's egotistical simplicity.

"Wow, you're crazy!"

"And who isn't?"

"Oh I don't know...people!" Pepper jawed.

"Oh I don't qualify anymore? There's a big difference between kicking alien ass and being an alien ass"

"Oh sure" Pepper split from Tony, snagging her cell off the glass table.

"Call me when you finished playing with your friends"

"Sure" Tony smirked.

Pepper giggled, grabbing her coat and running off. _What am I going to do about you Tony?_ She thought.

Stark clicked away on the hovering screens surrounding him. Stark hooked on a small earpiece.

"Who is this?" A voice questioned in Stark's earpiece.

"Aye spangly-tights, it's me Stark"

"Oh hi" The caller addressed with little enthusiasm.

"Yeah...I've got big news for you!"

Stark was anxious to prove Steve how little of a difference it would mean where the serum ended up in. He wanted to see Steve on his knees.

"I can't right now"

"Why? Trying to find out how an iPod works?"

"A what?"

"Nevermind, I'll get to you later then"

Stark hung up, jotting all the holographic gizmos into thin air. Stark had finally grown tired of working for once-jumped on the couch and crossed his legs lazily, moaning.

"Why are you really working on the serum project, Stark?" Asked Banner, standing from across the room. Stark got up, bewildered. Tony looked at Banner as if he were a madman. _How'd he get in?_

"What are you doing here?" Stark questioned blankly.

"Fury wants me to keep an eye on you. Make sure you don't let any info loose" Banner explained.

"And how exactly did you get past JARVIS's security protocols?"

"I'll rephrase that, SHIELD-"

"Got it"

"You didn't answer my question Stark"

"Oh yeah-the serum project. Yeah I'm not digging the "super soldier" thing exactly. It started out back in 2010"

"Keep going-"

"The whole Senator Stern/Hammer fiasco and to mention my 40th birthday. I was having a little bit too much fun as it appeared. Even after what went down in Manhattan-I'm still a "threat" as one-eyed Nicky put it. Help him out and I keep what's mine"

"The Iron-Man armors"

"Bingo. Nick can be a sadistic bastard at times"

"Kinda like you?"

Stark chuckles. "Don't compare, please. Once I'm done with my part, I'm out"

"So much for bonding" Banner joked.

Stark grabs the heavy bottle of alcohol up from his shelve and waves a glass at Banner"Whiskey?"

"No thanks"

Stark poured himself a glass and swallowed it down.

"Sorry to break your heart baby" Stark held Banner from the shoulder. He hated be told what to do. "What you're doing-what's SHIELD's doing is just bullshit. Bruce you've been told to believe in the American dream...doing what's right. Well the American dream doesn't exist"

"This is coming from you?"

"Yeah, which is exactly why you should listen. It's not "America's" job-it's depended upon you to do what you damn well please, honestly Bruce. Take it from a pro"

Banner knew Stark was right-he just didn't feel right admitting it was true-to this self-centered manchild.

"You know what, Stark? I'm just going to go ahead, just be back by tomorrow" Bruce warned the billionaire. Bruce made his way out through the elevator, his head down low as the doors slid shut.

"Don't get angry - that thing was expensive!" Stark hollered to an oblivious Banner. Once Banner was absolutely gone, he got back to his "holographic" studies.

* * *

The next afternoon, Stark burst into the filled laboratory, interrupting Banner and Pym in the middle of their laughter.

"Miss me?" Tony inquired sarcastically.

"Ha-ha, very funny" Banner shouted.

Pym, held a blue glowing liquid tube using a metal gauntlet, showing it off at a dumbfounded Stark.

"We've got our first prototype" Pym divulged eagerly.

"Uh who'd you get to fix the sustaining protons"

"Oh yeah-about that..." Pym excused.

Stark sighed. "Yupp...That thing's gonna blow"

At that exact moment, the last thing the three men saw was a blue flashing light before a vigorous blast lit the lab up in flames. The three scientists lied on the floor, stumbling to get back up. Stark helped Banner back up, realizing his skin was shading green.

"Control it, Banner!" Stark barked. "Breath in, breathe out? I don't know how to do this!"

"Shut up!" Banner roared, restored to normal-state. Stark hugged Banner tightly.

"I thought I was goner" Stark whispered into Banner's ear. Banner snorted with contempt.

Pym picked himself up, wiping rubble off from his lab-coat. "Alright... I think maybe we should get back to work"


	3. Chapter 3

Outside the blatant lab, Nick Fury marched back and forth impatiently. His heart sped up and his only eye began twitching. His elders insisted on having the serum completed within days and they didn't take no for an answer. Fury was also displeased with the idea of placing the serum's hands into two of the few "code red" humans on earth. Almost blowing themselves up on Monday, and nearly shutting down the helicarrier on Tuesday, he was expecting nuclear holocaust by Wednesday. Out of the blue, the lab entrance unlatched itself, Stark and Banner gradually stepping out and taking off their goggles to look Nick in the eye.

"So? Are you just going to stand there or what?" Nick hollered with little comfort.

Stark smirked. "Is it that time of the month?" Nick, fed up with the elders breathing on his neck couldn't take it any longer.

"Stark, make your self less annoying by NOT acting like a loudmouth smartass piece of shit for once!" Stark snorted shockingly.

"Wow, you really are angry"

Nick sighed, letting some steam off. "Yes I am, and your not making it any better"

Bruce, having been glaring into space with his hand on his chin, he had finally cracked it, smiling with satisfaction. "Why the deadline?" He asked.

"What?" Nick blurted confusedly.

"I know why your acting like this-like me when I go green"

Stark gulped. "You're not implying that you are-because if you are I need at least five minutes to pick up my suit" Stark joked.

"You've got a big deadline on the serum project...and you knew your guys couldn't even start by the time they shut it down. No wonder you got the hulk...and Mr. I love AC/DC over here. You only using us as a final resort" Bruce deduced, shoving his glasses down his pocket, expecting an answer from Fury.

"Well Sherlock-it looks like you've finally busted the case" Fury murmured, turning his back to them.

"Watson was a lot of help too you know" Stark yammered. Bruce crowed. "Sure he was. So Nick-we saved your ass and your still shady as ever" Bruce felt betrayed-after all that he had done to help SHIELD-to help the world itself.

"Let me guess-it's not the point. Is that what you were going to say?" Stark asserted, peering Fury, who glanced at the two.

"Helping us in tight spots doesn't change the fact that we're a spy organization-remember? It's not like you have title"

Bruce grunted with a serene blunder. Stark swept towards a motionless and cold Fury, who's eyes had reddened.

"Are you asking us to be official agents?" Stark questioned. Banner believed Stark to be playing around and felt it wasn't the right time to do so.

"Something like that" Fury replied in deadpan. Bruce was bewildered by the man's brief response.

"You're kidding, right?" Banner blurted.

"I'm afraid I'm not. We want you two to act as the supervisors on the Sciences Division of SHIELD" Nick revealed, trying to lift his frown without smiling. Banner and Stark both felt a bit superior and impressive but needed to keep their cool and not look childish-especially Stark.

"Consultant..Avenger...not supervisor? These names are going back to sounding lame again" Stark expressed. Banner knew Fury was up to something.

"Hold up" Bruce warned Stark, pulling him back. "Something doesn't feel right about this" He admitted, making Stark think hard about it for a moment. Stark jumped up in surprise, snorting.

"Titles...Sciences...you need poster boys! You want to make our super secret secret boy band roll like Spangly tights"

"You mean Cap...like The Avengers?" Bruce inquired.

"Yupp. Cyclops over here need a set of patriots...a red, white and blue symbol to scare off their bully dictators" Stark suggested. Banner realized Stark was on to something and that little "something" happened to be precise. The two scientists took a fresh look at one another, turning back to Fury.

"Not happening" They shouted simultaneously-with a smug look in their eyes.

"It's not like we don't have a backup plan...one not so far from you, Mr. Stark" Stark simpered.

Nick finally got to where he wanted. ". So where's Pym exactly?"

Stark's and Bruce's joy came to a quick stop.

"Oh yeah-about that" Stark uttered.

Nick wasn't so happy. "Continue..."

"The serum's mutagen radiation hasn't actually stabilized yet...so we needing someone to man the pressurizing unit to add the finishing touches" Stark explained.

"So what your saying is that if Pym was to let go of that machine-that thing goes kaboom?"

"If kaboom means the power of an atom bomb then yes" Stark wasn't really helping the situation and he saw that. Pissing Fury off would make his day.

Nick grew anxious. "What am I going to do about you three"

The mutagen-cased serum sealed tube rolled into the hallway. It gleamed bright blue, pitching a buzzing sound.

That's the serum, isn't it?"

"Unfortunately"

Nick's eyes danced with a near heart attack as Banner and Stark remained sound.

"Bruce, do your thing" Stark pepped up Bruce.

"Sure" Bruce said.

Bruce snatched the serum, curving himself into a ball, enforcing all his strength.

"Now would be a good time to duck" Stark whimpered, leaping onto the floor. The serum blew, the impact soaked in by Banner, burning his skin away. He almost looked like a skeleton for a split-second. His wounded flesh regrew in a shade of dark green. Stark groaned with slight pain, ascending himself using the wall-rails. Stark shook his head sternly to wipe out the stress. He helped Fury back up, finding Bruce transforming. He'd never seen him in the process He was completely naked, his muscles swelling up and his body expanding into a humongous, trenching creature. His growled, clutching it's fists. The Hulk took over what was left of Banner. Stark stepped back with Fury.

"I think Banner might be under the weather"

The Hulk turned over, it's face agitated and piercing at Stark and Fury. "Hulk smash talk man!"

Banner bashed Stark and Nick into the lab with a single swing. Pym emerged, wearing a bulky mechanical gauntlet on his right arm. He grins, beaming at Stark with distaste. Stark struggles to get up, falling back over shamefully.

"What the hell are you doing, Pym?"

"I'm doing what I want, Stark"

Pym grabs his own face, tearing it off-unveiling it to be nothing more than a plastic mask. His true face...his true identity belonged to a nameless man who stood and mocked Stark at his defeat.

"Not so big any more without that armor of yours, Stark"

Stark finally stood up, battered up and dismayed. "Who the hell are you!?" Stark cried out of breath. _Who was this man and what was his plans?_

"I'm the man who's going to end you" The man threatened. He was a tall dapper with a strong-jaw. He carried devil eyes that couldn't stop gaping at Stark.

Stark paused immediately. Brainstorm. stretching his brawny arm out. The polished hot-red and gold hand-piece of the Iron-Man armor shot onto his fist, expanding across his entire arm. He blasted a volt of energy at the impostor, shooting his gauntlet off and into scraps. The impostor snarled furiously.

"You piece of-" Stark cut him off. "ah-ah-ah...watch your language"

Stark grabbed the impostor from the neck, slamming him against the wall. Stark fathomed that the impostor's anger was phony. "Like my new suit-thought you would, it's a prototype"

The impostor burst into laughter much to Stark's surprise. Stark wanted to know what he was up to, and it just brainstormed at him. _The rest of the frozen serums._ Stark hurled the impostor across the floor, unsealing the chamber room by jamming a tank missile into the locked pass way, blowing it to bits.

"Tired of getting upstaged-that your not important anymore" The impostor taunted, but Stark was smart enough to know his true intentions; distraction. Stark ran into the chamber, losing himself in the mist and steam of it.

"I've got bigger fish to fry" Stark's voice echoed.

In the far left corner, lied a cumbrous refrigerator. He opened it up, grabbing the box in the center filled with glowing tubes flashing uncontrollably. "Looks pretty though"

* * *

Fury picked himself up and reached for his gun, hurrying into the passageway, finding Banner back to normal and naked from head to toe. He covered himself with rags from his old pants.

"Sorry-it happens more often than you think"

Fury howled, lowering his gun. "Just thank god I didn't catch you as the other guy"

"Me too. And code red? I told you I can control it"

Fury doubt it. "Weed doesn't count"

Stark, upbeat yelled "Guys! A little help wont hurt!"

Stark ran back into the lab carrying a metal container filled with flashing tubes. He could hardly carry them. Banner gasped. "The serums! Don't tell me Pym-"

"Yes...Pym stripped you but-naked" Stark shouted tightly. "I'm basically carrying 20 atom bombs here-and it's not so cool! These things are going to go off at any moment!"

Banner intruded. "The hulk could suck it in"

Stark was doubtful. He knew not even the Hulk could sustain it without the helicarrier going down. "No way, Brucey" Stark pointed towards the tool-bench. He thought maybe Iron-Man had something up his sleeve. "See that remote-control?"

"Yeah"

"Switch it on!"

Banner snatched the rectangular device and pressed a single knob. The remaining pieces of the Iron-Man armor shot itself onto Stark's body within a matter of seconds, fused together perfectly.

"Honey, I might come home late" Stark said, blasting through the roof, out of the loading dock and flying away with the remaining serums.

"He gets a cool suit and what do I do? Get angry" Bruce complained. "But I still manage to kick more ass then him"

"Word taken" Was Fury's last remark.


	4. Chapter 4

Tony Stark, fully suited up in his armor hurled through the unruffled sky, carrying a metal container. The container held at least two dozen frozen serum samples, all set to blow within seconds. Stark suddenly halted, almost three thousand feet away from the helicarrier. Ridding a nuclear threat isn't so easy yet common for Stark in a humorous and ironic way.

"Deja Vu" He uttered under his breath.

It struck him again-falling out of the sky at tremendous speed, out of control and balance; his eyes shutting on him...assured for a short death sentence. It wasn't so pretty but he couldn't ignore the fact that it scarred him...changed him inside, but not on the outside just yet. Stark spun around quickly to increase his throw's speed, pitching it across the air, sending it flying on and on, becoming faint even. As soon as it changed into a speck in Stark's eyes, it blew. A giant fiery ball of smoke bloated, pounding Stark away like a rag doll. He was suddenly a red and gold motif spiraling out of control, not even close to slowing down. Stark realized he was having no control over the suit, he could feel the titanium alloy holding down his own strength, as if it just shut down on him.

"What the hell's going on JARVIS?"

"Sir it appears that the arc-reactor's endurance bond has been disabled from the arm and leg joint pieces"

Stark, having gotten rolled up in the mix of things just remembered the armor was an experimental armor in the first place. "It's times like these where I think; hey I could be eating ice cream or hey; I could be watching a movie with Pepper-no I'm falling out of the sky after swinging a goddamn nuclear bomb into thin air!"

Stark descended, falling through the moist clouds. Stark closed his weary eyes. "I'm just tired" He thought. After his armor completely shut down-he felt a clunk and then a smash. Waking up and opening his eyes, he found himself stuck on the fin of a speeding fighter jet.

"My guardian angel...where were you like 10 minutes ago?"

Sliding off the jet, his armor powered back on, surging with energy. He regained control, clinging onto the back fin. The jet slowed down to keep Iron-Man safely on and well. Stark tilted his helmet, analyzing the jet.

"Custom SHIELD airfighter" JARVIS stated.

"Not bad" Stark said to himself, resting from the impact.

The airfighter made it's way to the loading grounds of the helicarrier, landing precisely. Stark hopped off the jet, landing on his two feet. Fury and a fully clothed Banner joined him. Stark took his helmet off to take a look at it.

"Wow-this is bad" He had just realized how flawed his armor was.

"That was a quite a move you did there" Banner erupted.

"Oh yeah-you're welcome. Once again I prove how much you need me, Nicky"

"Don't flatter yourself, Stark" Fury chaffed.

"Yeah yeah. So what you locked up our little master of disguise?"

"Pretty tight"

"In Banner's condo?"

Banner pat Stark on the back. "Don't make me show you why I need it again"

Stark liked playing around with Banner. He was the only one that shot back at him-it was fun.

"Let's scare the shit out of this guy, may we?" Stark bid

* * *

The crude impostor sat on the floor of the prisonment chamber with his legs crossed as if he were waiting for Fury to arrive. He noticed how spacey the chamber was and the bulletproof thickness of the glass walls. He knew it was for Banner-he could straight down tell with Fury's lack of certainty for anything. Stark and Banner entered the vault. Stark and Banner confided amongst themselves.

"I think it'd be best if you let me do the detective work, Banner" Stark requested with little care for Banner's opinion.

"Look, I'm good at terrifying people. It's in my blood"

"Literally?"

"Shut up. The whole "hulk" thing gets them on their cold feet"

"Cold feet? He was going to blow us all up, remember?"

"Pain is a virtue"

Stark hated it when Banner got too brainy about things. "What the hell? Pain is a virtue? Cut the Shakespeare crap, Frosty. You're looking at the wrong direction. Pain won't make him spill"

"Then what will, almighty god?

"This fine piece of ass you're looking at" Stark concluded.

"Oh god" Banner was sure this wouldn't go anywhere.

The impostor looked up in disgust. "You do know I can hear you, right?" He shouted. Banner and Stark turned to the prisoner.

Stark sighed. "Just pretend that didn't happened and we just walked in right now. Does that fit the script?"

The impostor chuckled. "You're a reckless man, Mr. Stark"

Stark burst into laughter. "I'm reckless? If I'm not wrong, you're the one that's in a cage right now"

The impostor snorted. He found Stark's ignorance childish. "You're a fool, that's why you almost got yourself killed not once, but four times already I presume"

"You presume well...Mr?"

"My name is Desmond"

"Well Desmond, you've just screw yourself over. I know what you did"

"It's that right?"

"No it's left...you sent the last sample of the serum to your boss"

"Correct"

"And why do I know that? Oh yeah...the last sample contained the custom titanium-gold alloy I use for my babies" Stark, knowing he could track down the serum using the metallic compounds in it, rubbed it in Desmond's face. Banner was completely dumbfounded.

"Wait if you knew he sent the serum and how to find it, why bother interrogating the guy?" He asked.

Stark grinned. "I didn't...I don't even know who to track it. I just knew there was a missing serum"

"And you guessed he took the last one?"

"He only had two minutes to blast you away, open the chamber and set off the serums. It all counts when you're under tension"

Desmond snarled at Stark. "How brilliant. Now you just need to find it"

"I escaped terrorists with scraps of metal. Trust me...I'll find it. But you shouldn't be worrying about, Mr. Desmond. Your bosses got inside guys-and they'll be looking to trap a rat if they smell one"

"You're punier than a rat-then again I do turn into a giant monster"

Stark forged a purposed cough. "Metaphor!"

Desmond couldn't see how the two were seen as a team. All they did was ramble on back and forth. "You two are like a bickering couple!"

"Who's the man?" Stark asked.

Banner sighed. "Don't even answer that question.

"It's me...I know it"

The vault door opened up. Fury stood outside. "Time's up" Banner and Stark left Desmond to himself.

"So you plan on finding the serum, is that right?" Fury questioned.

"What? It's not like you're gonna get your Galaga champions to do it for you" Stark assumed. Fury couldn't deny that Stark would be a lot more help-yet he still had Banner.

"Banner, you're in charge of locating the serum using traces of the golden alloys" Fury commanded. "I'll need to get Cap on the job"

Stark fell into a bombshell. "Cap's coming on board? Can't wait to break the news!"

"Who said you were?" Fury instigated. "That probation of yours is done and done. You're free to go for all I care"

Stark wanted to tag along-he knew he still had something to finish. "So you wouldn't care if I stayed? Is that what you're saying? Well then...I might as well stay then" Stark scuttled off. "But that doesn't mean you can afford me!" Stark echoed through the walls.


	5. Chapter 5

In the research lab, a fixated Banner brushed on the lucid touchscreen hanging from the ceiling. Stark jumped into the room.

"Hey big man" Stark grumbled, chewing on gum.

"Nice to hear from you" Banner grunted, trying to finish up Fury's agenda as much as he hated it.

"Love you too but you didn't have to lie" Stark stared at Banner from bottom to top.

"Have you ever transformed...like in bed?" Stark was curious.

"The other guy doesn't come out when aroused" Banner answered.

"I call bullshit"

Banner flipped the screen over, man-handling his tools. "Look-we aren't playing games Stark. We need to find that serum now. The things these people can do-it's unimaginable"

Stark didn't like getting scolded. "Look Frosty, I know what I've got to do. Besides, this all could have never happened if it hadn't been for jolly Uncle Sam. Banner, you've got to see what's going on-you can make this world better, just not in their hands" Stark had enough of it.

Banner's nostrils flared. "This whole thing's got to be scrapped, Stark"

Stark couldn't believe it. He was shelving the whole project. "Come again"

"You heard me. It's not about mixing testing tubes, anymore. It's not doing what we do anymore-it's all about following orders. Erskine knew what he was doing back then-when the world believed in simpler things. There's only one Cap"

Stark hated how Banner could hold up everything for Steve. Banner could be more of he wanted. "Really? Is this is what it's all about now? Steve?"

"Yes and no. It's the person that makes you the avenger...not your power"

"This noggin up here is my power"

"Yeah but it wasn't just the noggin that made Iron-Man"

"You're on to something...and it's not that bad for a sappy bullshitter"

"What I'm onto is that we need to forget this whole serum-just getting it back"

"And destroying it?"

"You read my mind. Fury can't do anything about is. As long as the serum's out of devil's reach, the council well be pleased enough to let his tail loose"

"We need to start - like now"

"Don't worry - this tracking agent will use your armor's encoded metal as specimen to trace the serum"

"Wow - and you still can't get rid of the other guy?" Stark was astounded by Banner's skill and ability, yet he hasn't cured the "Hulk"

Banner looked down. "It's not a burden anymore. Just wish I could have tamed it before" Banner had regretted everything...pushing Betty away...losing it. "That doesn't matter now. What does matter is we find that goddamn serum"

"Amen" Stark swiped out his PDA. He whistled away, working out his thumbs. "According to your little tracker...the loading process is at 45%. What a bummer"

Banner wasn't at all let down. "Jesus, Stark. You're so judgmental for a guy who who poisoned himself slowly for 6 months"

"We all make miscalculations. Get a little fed up and you'll know what I'm talking about..."

Banner crossed his arms. "Wow. That's one too many Hulk references in one day Stark."

"I know. They're so easy to come up with"

"So...getting to business I thought you'd break the ice on this once"

Stark was deterred with being the messenger boy-let him toy around with his teammates. "Not bad. We've got Capsicle and Robin Hood-not to mention our redhead. What about point-break?"

Banner turned away, dimming his voice and thoughts. "Just let me handle that"

* * *

Steve shaved away his frizzled 5 o'clock shadow in the cramped bathroom of his tight apartment in Queens, New York. Humming classy tunes from his days before the war, he finished up the last spot on his chin, washing it out. Drying himself out with a rag, he wandered outside. He felt a breeze - the window was open.

"Huh. I thought I closed it" He said to himself, dumbfounded.

"You did" Said a familiar voice. "You just need a lock...maybe a genius inventor proof lock" Stark stepped out of the shadowy corner of the room, wearing the armor. Clenching the helmet in his arm, Stark sneered at Steve. "Peekaboo"

"Don't you have better things to do than sneak into people's homes in the middle of the day?" Steve wasn't too happy to have Stark break into his place and startle him.

"Actually, I don't. I can't believe I'm saying this...oh god" Stark didn't want to say the words-but deep down inside he wanted to. "We need you're help, Rodgers"

Steve was whammed at the fact Tony Stark was asking him for help. "We?"

"Don't make me say it again"

"I might help _you_"

"Ah you said the word"

"What? _You_?"

Stark groaned as if he were being slapped. "No...just shut up! They...not me"

"No..._you_ do" Steve died of laughter.

"Do you want to help _them_ or not?"

"Of course"

"Not don't say that again. For god's sake, you're going to give me a heart-attack"

"That'd be fun" The two made off.


End file.
